Strange that even if I was struggling with cold and condensation, I could sleep until after daybreak! Coffee made, By the time I had finished faffing with tents and cycling passports, it was late morning. First stop, another coffee. And breakfast. Fortunately, now off the cycle path, corner shops with hot fresh coffee were easy to find.

﻿Steel works﻿

Just down the road is Korea's largest steel plant, complete with 5 blast furnaces. I felt obliged to take photos of the site and the other companies around. I'll be planning a school trip here so this now officially means I have travelled for days for business purposes. Wonder if I can claim expenses for the trip...

The route was the amongst the shortest. Being on the coast, the area is pretty developed with some dual carriageways taken in the wrong sense. Looking on the bright side at least I could see when I was about to die!

The trip so far...

A lovely cloudless day, mostly flat except towards the end, leading up to the second longest and highest continual ascent (270m) - the highest being on Jeju. Things were great apart from the final part of the hill, where the peak sharpened in gradient. I managed 49 km/h down the other side though :-)

Unplanned, but as I rode past the entrance, I took the opportunity to go in. Weird landscaping off to one side, Herb gardens and competition gardens off to the other and sun beating down overhead... the conditions couldn't have been better.

Typical (European) Gardens Amongst the grass rushes and trees, different 'typical' gardens had been produced, mostly of european style. I guess in Asia they don't often see gardens of other cultures, but as the only white person in evidence in the whole of the park, I guess that I am not really their target audience!

So the 6 images below represent gardens from different countries. 5 of them are european. Can you guess them...

Nagan Folk Village

click to enlarge

The rest of the park had various sculptures and trees... oh and a pink 2CV used as a flowerpot...

Sometimes, when travelling, you are not prepared for the sights that you are about to see. Nagan falls into that category. There are many traditional villages in Korea, and they are usually empty shells of houses over a small area. This however, was a fully functional working village... town even. Most houses were stone and thatch although the temple padogas were of wood with clay roofs. And the place was huge. Nestling in the foothils of the mountains, the thatched houses continued outside of the walls. Chimneys hung off most buildings at jaunty (but necessary) angles. Swings were lashed together affairs of rope and wooden poles... and there was even some traditional music played with traditional instruments.